NEGAUNEE, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The Upper Peninsula Negaunee Little League all- stars already made history by capturing Michigan’s state title – the first Upper Peninsula team to do so since Gladstone in 1996. Now, they’re taking their game on the road – 544 miles to be exact – to Whitestown, Indiana, for the Great Lakes Regional Tournament.
Negaunee will represent Michigan in the five-team, modified double-elimination tournament, facing off against state champions from Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, and Wisconsin. After drawing a first-round bye, they’ll take the field at 4 p.m. Sunday, August 3, against the winner of Saturday’s game between Kentucky’s Lexington Eastern and Ohio’s Hamilton West Side.
Depending on whether they win or lose on Sunday, they’ll move on to one of two games scheduled for Monday. The tournament runs through August 6, wrapping up with the championship game – broadcast on ESPN – with the winner punching their ticket to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
A team with grit and a goal.
Coach Joe Dost isn’t shy about the team’s mission.
Dost told M-Live in an interview, “I went to the Little League World Series last year and bought a Great Lakes Region hat,” he said. “I brought it to one of our practices and threw it in the middle of our huddle and said, ‘Why not us?’”
The boys from Negaunee aren’t just representing their small town – they’ve also set their sights on representing the entire Great Lakes Region in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. To that end, supporters of the team are having a watch party and fundraiser on Sunday at Smarty’s Saloon in Negaunee, a town of approximately 4,600.
The price of a dream.
While Little League International generously covers travel, lodging, and meal expenses for the players and coaches competing in the Little League World Series, the cost for families to attend can be significant. Additionally, they can’t really plan ahead much because they don’t know they’re going to Williamsport until the last minute.
Parents and supporters typically shoulder the expenses for their own travel, accommodations, and meals – often spending between $1,000 and $5,000 per household. These costs can include airfare or gas, hotel stays for multiple nights, meals, and incidental expenses. They also have to take time off from work and other obligations for what could be a total of 12 days – plus traveling time.
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For families of the Honolulu Little League team that won the championship in 2022, their costs were more like $20,000 per family according to a report out of Allen Media Broadcasting in Honolulu. The families discussed being on the road for a month and sharing what they could including accommodations and meals. Even though they tried to cook as many of their own meals as possible,
their expenses that year were “easily over $20,000” said one family. Still, another parent called it a “priceless experience” and a once in a lifetime opportunity for their sons. In order to offset some of the costs, they sold t-shirts and held a GoFundMe fundraiser as many teams do.
Chipping away at history.
The Negaunee roster earned their state title with an undefeated run, capped by a 10-5 victory over Plymouth-Canton in Saginaw Township. That win didn’t just secure a trophy; it proved they could hang with the best.
“We operate with a little chip on our shoulder,” said Dost. “I’m not sure we got the respect we deserved from other teams, but we showed them that we can play ball.”
Eyes on the prize.
The last time a Michigan team won the Great Lakes Region was in 2021, when Taylor North went on to capture the Little League World Series title. Another Michigan team also won it all – Hamtramck in 1959. This year, Negaunee hopes to be the third Michigan team to win the Little League World Series and write its own chapter in baseball lore.
